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<H3 class=category><EM>From Today's ECT-COOP</EM></H3>
<H3 class=category><A title="View all posts in Environmental Stewardship"
href="http://www.ect.coop/category/efficiency-conservation/environmental-stewardship"
rel="category tag">Environmental Stewardship</A></H3>
<H2 class="title main">Co-op Honored for Species Protection</H2><!--Floats in IE not working-->
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<TD class=next></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><CITE class=author>By Victoria A. Rocha
| ECT Staff Writer</CITE> <EM>Published: January 5th, 2012</EM>
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<P class=first>As director of maintenance services at EnergyUnited, Jimmy Brown
has defended Earth’s smallest creatures along the Statesville, N.C., electric
cooperative’s rights of way.</P>
<P></P>
<DIV class="wp-caption alignleft" id=attachment_38157 style="WIDTH: 250px"
sizset="0" sizcache="2"><A class="thickbox no_icon"
title="Jimmy Brown with Pollinator Partnership s Victoria Wojcik with an award recognizing his preservation work. (Photo By: Natasha Suber)"
href="http://www.ect.coop/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jimmyaward.jpgrs_.jpg"
rel=gallery-38147><IMG class="size-medium wp-image-38157 " height=177
alt="Jimmy Brown with Pollinator Partnership s Victoria Wojcik with an award recognizing his preservation work. (Photo By: Natasha Suber)"
src="http://www.ect.coop/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jimmyaward.jpgrs_-300x221.jpg"
width=240></A>
<P class=wp-caption-text>Jimmy Brown with Pollinator Partnership’s Victoria
Wojcik with an award recognizing his preservation work. (Photo By: Natasha
Suber)</P></DIV>
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<DIV class=heading-sm>Related Content</DIV>
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<LI><A
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<P>Recently, Brown’s efforts to create safe havens for bees, butterflies and
other pollinators earned him international recognition and first-time honors for
any utility from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, a project of
the national Pollinator Partnership.</P>
<P>Brown was one of five honored with the 2011 Pollinator Advocate Award in a
ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.</P>
<P>Brown’s longtime work includes creating a network of habitat spanning more
than 1,000 miles, locating and preserving three federally endangered flowers,
and convincing the co-op to hold conferences on the issue with other wildlife
groups.</P>
<P>“The work that can be done on utility rights of way is stunning for
wildlife,” said Victoria Wojcik, associate program manager at the San
Francisco-based partnership. “So when someone steps forward and puts their toe
in the water, we want to be sure and shine a light on them.”</P>
<P>Brown and his three-person crew at <A class=external
href="http://www.energyunited.com/" target=_blank>EnergyUnited<IMG
style="MARGIN-LEFT: 3px"
src="http://www.ect.coop/wp-content/themes/nreca/images/external.png"></A> have
relied on herbicides to remove undesirable species of trees and allow the native
grasses, forbs, shrubs and vines to flourish in the rights of way corridor.</P>
<P>“Utilities normally protect rights of way through mowing,” or bush-hogging,
Brown explained. “But the problem is that when you mow, you never see what grows
underneath. With herbicides, you can be more selective and target unwanted
species that shade out the grass and prevent other plants and seeds from
growing.</P>
<P>“Our goal is to provide safe and reliable electric service to members, while
making sure that we’re trying to protect the environment and enhance wildlife,”
Brown continued. “The integrated vegetation management program at Energy United
has created wins environmentally in the local community and for our
members.”</P>
<P>Besides the Pollinator Partnership award, which stemmed from nine nominations
from co-op and state wildlife personnel, Brown has received other habitat
restoration and stewardship awards, including one from the governor in 2007.</P>
<P>EnergyUnited and the partnership are considering a project to protect the
East Coast migratory route of monarch butterflies, said Wojcik. “There’s heavy
habitat loss in the migration corridor, which is causing the butterflies to
change direction.”</P>
<P><EM>To sign up for the latest energy efficiency and conservation news alerts
<A href="http://www.ect.coop/customized-news-feeds">click here.</A></EM></P>
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<P>Tags: <A href="http://www.ect.coop/tag/environmental-stewardship"
rel=tag>Environmental Stewardship</A>, <A
href="http://www.ect.coop/tag/local-initiatives" rel=tag>Local
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